In the Way of Fury
by Dru619
Summary: Told through 6-year-old, child abuse case, Carmella. Ch. 10, The dreaded court date! Up as of 2-23.
1. Fear

**fear** (feer)

A feeling of agitation and dread caused by the presence or imminence of danger.

Chapter 1

I quicken the pace of my footsteps as I hear an ambulance siren blaring in my ears. I know that there are other people out there that are a lot worse then I am. But the pain in my arm has become so unbearable every time I move it I break into tears. The ambulance has passed now and all I hear is the splashes under my feet as I step into the puddles in the road. I enter the hospital and am pushed over by some man whose growing hysterical. The pain in my arm is too much for me and I start sobbing on the floor.

"This is ridiculous!" the man shouts just adding to my fear and uncertainty. "I have been waiting here for 3 hours with this god damn migraine and nobody has done anything about it!"

'People worse off then me' I think again. A large man comes from behind the desk and confronts the man.

"You're just going to have to wait sir," he says. The migraine man balls his fist up and is about to hit the man when security is all over him. I try to soften my cries so I won't bring too much attention to my self. The large man bends down to me and my heart jumps to my throat.

"Hi there," he whispers. "I'm Jerry." Immediately I feel better.

"Jerry," I repeat quietly wiping away tears with my good arm. I have to wince at the pain that hits me from the black eye I know that's growing. He gently touches the blood I know that's been drying under my left ear.

"Why don't we go get you cleaned up," he suggests opening up his arms. I fall into his embrace and he lifts me off the floor with ease. He takes me back behind the desk where there our beds set out, curtains around each individual one. He sets me on an empty one and I look back up at him.

"Uh…Dr. Ross," he calls to a man in a white doctors coat. I cradle my arm close to my body as he approaches.

"What do we got Jerry?" he asks. Jerry shrugs.

"Don't know. I found her. Alone and scared."

"Well I'm Doug, what's your name?" he asks.

"Car…Carmella," I stammer.

"I'll see you later Carmella," Jerry says kissing me on the forehead. "Dr. Ross will take very good care of you." I nod my head then look back up at Doug.

"How old are you Carmella?" he asks.

"Six," I say holding up my fingers. Their stiff from all the dried blood that cakes them.

"Carmella where are your parents?" he asks. I feel like I got the wind knocked out of me.

"Please," I plead falling into Doug and holding him tight. "Please don't make me go back." I start to cry into his chest as the same fear creeps back into my heart.

* * *

I know it's really short. I have a lot of good things going for this story so please tell me what you think. What you think really matters!! Please don't be too harsh:) It was just an idea I came with the other day and decided to run with.

Dru619


	2. Trust

**Trust** (trust)

Firm reliance on the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing.

Chapter 2

I think after Dr. Ross realized that I wasn't what I would call a 'normal everyday case' he just decided to try and build up my trust and try to get to know me a little better. He tried to be as gentle and sweet as possible and in return I tried not to hold too much back.

"Do you like baseball?" he had asked me.

"No," I answered quietly as he wiped the blood up from my face. The cloth he used was damp and smelled like lemons.

"What do you like?" he asked.

"Nothing," I whisper, my voice barely audible.

"Aw. Come on, you've got to like something," he says lightly tickling by belly as he reaches for another cloth. I think for a while. What do I like?

"Doug! What did I tell you about other women?" a lady comes up and hits Dr. Ross playfully in the arm. She has curly black hair and soft brown eyes. Her voice is cheerful as she turns to me.

"Hi. My name's Carol. What's yours?" she asks.

"Carmella," I answer wondering how so many people could be so nice to me at once.

"Honey. Does this hurt when I touch it?" Dr. Ross asks gently pulling my arm away from my chest were I had been cradling it protectively. Pain shoots through my body and I loudly cry out. Tears run out of my eyes as I start to cry. Doug is saying sweet words to me in soft whispers to get me to calm down but it isn't doing anything.

"Carol."

I don't know where it had come from but for some reason I had murmured her name.

"Everything's going to be okay Carmella," she whispered, sitting down next to me and pulling me into her lap. I lay my head on her chest. I'm not used to this kind of attention. She smoothes my hair away from my face as I try to calm down. She try's to place me back down on the gurney but I cling to her tightly.

"We better take her up to x-ray," Doug says rubbing my back.

"What's that?" I ask panic gripping my heart.

"Were going to take a picture of your arm to see what we can do to make you feel better," Carol says.

"The labs are back for the woman in 4. Who's this cute one?" another lady comes up to Dr. Ross. I wonder quietly to myself how many lady friends he actually has. Her hair is curly too, and brown. She's wearing the same color scrubs as Carol and she seems nice.

"Chuny this is Carmella. Carmella this is Chuny," Dr. Ross introduces us.

"Hi," I smile up at her. I know I must not look too friendly with my black eye and my matted brown hair.

"Carol! We need you back in trauma!" a man shouts at her wheeling a gurney down the hallway.

"Alright Carmella. I'm going to leave you with Chuny and Doug okay?" Carol sets me back down and heads out after the man wheeling the gurney. I grow uneasy again as Dr. Ross says we better start heading to x-ray.

"I can't go," I whisper feeling a knot growing in my throat. "I'm too scared."

"WEAK!" I remember my father's shouts ringing through our tiny apartment. "That's all you are! Useless and weak. Just like your mother."

My mind set on the incident, I start to cry.

"I didn't mean it! I'm sorry. I'm not scared," I apologize over and over again as I let the tears rush down my face.

"Just please don't hurt me," I plead quietly.

"Honey nobody's here to hurt you," I hear Chuny's soft voice in my ears as she sits down next to me.

"We're all here to help you. You don't have to be scared but its okay if you are," I hear Dr. Ross faintly on the other side of me. I feel Chuny's hand pat my knee. I grab it and hold it tightly, leaning my face up against her scrubs. They feel scruffy under my cheek and smell like rice. I allow her to bring me closer to her.

"Chuny, would you like to walk down with us?" Doug asks quietly.

"Absolutely," Chuny says setting me down on the floor. I grabbed on to her hand tightly as we followed Dr. Ross down the hallway. My tears dried up pretty quickly. I forced myself to forget about my father and just enjoy how good Chuny, Carol, and Dr. Ross had made me feel.

"You see that goof ball over there?" Chuny gets down to my height once we get to the elevator. I giggle and nod my head seeing a man in his mid twenties yelling at a green Gameboy he has in his hands.

"David Malucci get your butt over here!" I hear Dr. Ross cry at him. The man quickly jumps to attention and is at Dr. Ross' side in a heartbeat. "Meet Carmella."

His panic stricken face calms as he kneels down to me and throws his arms around me, resting his head on my belly.

"Thanks squirt. You have no idea how much trouble I would have been in if you…,"

"Think again Malucci," Doug smiles cockily down at him. I gently push David's head away and giggle.

"His real name is David," Chuny explains to me getting up off of the floor. "But we usually call him Dave or Malucci. Or, how he likes to refer to himself, Dr. Dave."

I watch as Dr. Ross tugs him down the hallway. Dave sighs and waves to me. I wave back and then grab Chuny's hand again.

"I'll meet you up in x-ray!" Dr. Ross calls.

"Okay!" Chuny calls back as we step into the elevator. Two other men in white coats occupy it. I hid behind Chuny's leg.

"Who's your little friend Chuny?" the more intimidating looking man of the two asks.

"Carmella," Chuny says leading me out from behind her.

"Hey kid," he says getting down to my height. "I'm Dr. Gregory Pratt. But you can call me Pratt."

He sticks his hand out and I shake it, happy that he isn't mean.

"This is Carter," Chuny nods at the other man that's been quiet up until now.

"Nice to meet you Carmella," he says politely. I shake his hand too. I start to relax as the elevator opens. I realize that the people at the hospital are easy to trust. I realize that nobody's here to hurt me. Still, I grip Chuny's hand tightly as we head down the hallway with Carter and Pratt.

"What happened to you kid?" Pratt asks pushing hair away from my face, revealing my black eye and battered face. I start to cry again gripping onto Chuny's leg.

"Don't make me go back!" I plead again.

"I'll never go back!"


	3. Domestic Violence

**domestic violence**  
_n._

Violence toward or physical abuse of one's spouse or domestic partner.

Chapter 3

I shake under the blanket I have wrapped around me. It's not from fear or cold but from embarrassment. I needed to stop freaking out. I needed to stop thinking about everything back at home. I touch my arm gingerly, careful not to aggravate it. I like the gurney I sit on because I can see everybody at once.

I watch Dave flirt with a lady who's always sucking on a lollipop. Dr. Ross shines a flashlight in a little boy's ear a few gurneys down. Carol is sitting at the front desk again filling out pieces of paper she calls 'charts'. Carter is asleep in an empty exam room. He has the door propped open with his shoe. Dr. Pratt says he's afraid of the dark. Dr. Pratt himself is talking with a lady named Deb who I really like. Chuny doesn't stray far from me while she does some inventory in the cabinets near the gurney right next to me. I have also met 3 other people, Abby, Sam, and Luka. I really like Abby. She's very nice and I think she's pretty.

Sam is small and sweet and she seemed to show a lot of sympathy for me. Sometimes I don't like it when people feel sad for me. It's all my fault that I look this way anyway. Luka is just like a big teddy bear. He talks in a low voice. It kind of scares me, but he is very nice to Sam and Abby.

"You ready to try again honey?" Abby comes over to me with a glass of water. After we had come down from x-ray Abby gave me some water which I had promptly thrown back up. Sam said I was 'dehydrated'. I don't know what it means but I don't think I really want to. Suddenly I flashback again. To our tiny apartment in Michigan.

"Get out!" my father roars throwing a glass at the wall. It immediately shatters into tiny pieces while water flies everywhere. My mommy is cowering by the door, scared of my father's fury.

"No! Don't go Mommy! Take me with you!" I shriek rushing at her from my hiding place under the table. I grab her around the neck and sob into her shoulder. "Please don't leave me!"

"Take her with you! It's not my responsibility to be caring for _your_ daughter!" he shouts coming towards us. I feel Mommy trembling as she tightens her grasp around me.

"I wouldn't ever leave her," Mommy whispered hugging me close to her. A mixture of her tears and blood run into my hair. The warmth of the blood on my head makes me shudder. She rises from the floor and takes me with her out of our apartment. But then, my dad's mood changes again. In one quick motion he grabs a handful of Mommy's hair and yanks her back into the apartment. She sets me on the floor and screams out in pain. I race back under the table and close my eyes tightly as my father goes on to beat my mother. Eventually to death.

The tears come steady again.

"I'm sorry Abby," I whisper past the lump in my throat I try to force down.

"It's okay Carmella," she says setting the cup of water off to the side. "I just wish I could understand."

"He killed her," I whispered.

"Killed who?" Abby asked realizing she was finally getting somewhere.

"My Mommy," I say looking up at her, my eyes milky with tears. "My father killed my Mommy."

"Why did he do that?" Abby asked looking down at her hands as if she was embarrassed for asking me these questions.

"He had a bat," I said. "He used to hit her. Then he killed her." The tears were really coming now. I looked back up at Abby who looked like she was about to cry too.

"Please don't cry Abby," I said shaking her arm lightly so she would look at me.

"It's really awful Carmella," she said.

"I know it," I say rubbing my tired eyes. "But if I don't go back…,"

"We'll see what we can do to keep you away from your dad okay?" Abby asked tilting my chin up.

"K, Abby," I say in between yawns.

"Want to go see if Dr. Ross will put a cast on that arm of yours?" Abby asked. I shook my head.

"No way!" I giggle seeing Abby's flustered expression.

"You're going to fall asleep Ms. Carmella," she said. I shake my head again.

"Alright then. I guess your just going to have to suffer through another night," Abby said getting to her feet. I knew she was bluffing and there was no way she'd let me go to bed with my broken arm. She just wanted me to say so.

"Ms. Abby," I whisper putting on my best pouty face when she turns around. I hold my arms to her and stick my lip out. She giggles and lifts me off of the gurney.

"Alright Carmella," she says as I put my arms around her neck. "I'll carry you this once but don't think your going to be making a habit of it." I just smile and kiss her on the nose before burying my head into her neck.

* * *

Thanks so much 4 everyones reviews! They make me bery happy!

Dru619

Will try 2 update more often!!!


	4. Belonging

**be·long·ing**

a. To be in an appropriate situation or environment.

b. To fit into a group naturally

Chapter 4

The next morning I wake up in the hospital and panic. My arm feels sore and when I bring it to my chest it has a light blue cast on it. Nobody's in the tiny room with me so I scream as loud as I can.

"ABBY! CHUNY! CAROL! DR. ROSS!"

I repeat this twice more before Dr. Ross, Chuny, and Carol stand at my door. I crawl out from under the sheets and move over to the edge of the bed.

"What's the matter Ms. Carmella? Don't you like your cast?" Dr. Ross asks patting my head gently.

"What is this I'm wearing?" I ask curiously as I stand up on the bed.

"A hospital gown," Carol answers. "Your other clothes were almost unrecognizable."

"Well I don't like it very much," I say.

"Their definitely not a fashion statement." Everyone turns and I see Dave standing at the door with a big bag.

"Dave!" I cry excitedly as he comes over and sits down next to me.

"Look what I found for you," he says opening up the bag to show me.

"Dave where did you get all those?" Carol asks taking the clothes that are in the bag out to examine.

"Their perfect!" I exclaim as Carol sets down some dresses on the bed along with overalls and pants and shirts and socks. Everything I always wanted was sitting right here on my bed.

"They do have a hallway up here in pediatrics with tons of clothes for boys and girls. But I guess you knuckle heads would never be observant enough to know."

I giggle and hold up some long khaki pants and a long sleeved, white shirt with Hello Kitty on it. I remember watching Hello Kitty one morning with my Mommy.

"I want to wear these," I say.

"Look what else Dave has," Chuny says looking into the bag, clearly amazed Dave could come up with this sort of stuff she never even knew about. At the bottom of the bag was a coat, mittens, a scarf, a beanie, a pair of shoes, some boots, a hair brush, a toothbrush, and underwear.

"Necessities," Dave explained. He took them out and set them on the bed before reaching back into the bag and pulling out one last thing.

"This is just something I saw and thought you might like," he said handing me a fuzzy brown teddy bear. I giggled happily and took the bear from Dave. I held it close to my body. It smelled like warm vanilla and cinnamon. Sort of like a Hallmark store.

"Thank you Dave," I whisper feeling the tears come.

"What's the matter sweetie?" Carol asked kneeling down next to the bed.

"I never had a teddy bear before," I say hugging it even closer to me.

"All the more reason for you to love it," Dave said kissing me on the head. "Well I've got to get back to work before Dr. Weaver blows her gasket." Dr. Weaver was a lady I hadn't yet met but had heard about like 30 times already. And she was never really spoken about in a good light either. After Dave was gone Dr. Ross and Carol agreed it was time to get back to work too. Chuny stood and smiled.

"I told you Dave was quite the character," she said sitting down next to me and putting everything but the clothes I picked out back into the bag.

"Where's Abby?" I asked leaning over Chuny's arm to see what she was doing.

"It's Friday," Chunni said. "So she'll be on at 2. Then you'll get to see her again."

"Will I be able to stay here forever?" I ask looking up at Chuny. She sighs.

"I won't be making you any promises I can't keep Carmella."

"Can I put on my new clothes?" I ask anxiously.

"How about a bath first?" Chuny asked.

"What is a bath?" I asked. It was like Chuny was expecting my question because she was quick with her answer.

"It's sort of like…a swimming pool. Only you get clean." I looked back down at my bear.

"Then when were done I can make your hair look pretty," she said touching my head of matted hair. I smiled.

"Okay," I said taking Chuny's hand as she led me out of my small hospital room.

"Well somebody looks refreshed," Dr. Ross said coming over to the big desk place at the entrance of the hospital and sticking some charts in a cubby hole. I was sitting at a stool with Randi. I met Randi this morning and I found out that she was the lady Dave was flirting with the other day. I sucked happily on a green lollipop she had given me and I held my teddy bear tightly. I was wearing my new clothes and my new boots. The bath was really fun. The water was really warm and Chuny made my hair hang in a red bow so it was off of my neck. It was so neat. Dave put Neosporin on the cut under my ear.

"What's that?" I asked pointing at something Jerry was eating.

"A doughnut," Randi said scribbling something on a piece of paper and then folding it up.

"Hey Dave! Heads up!" She called. Dave was walking past us as the piece of paper hit him in the head and landed on his clipboard. Dave looked up, irritated, until he saw Randi smiling like a goof at him. He slipped her a smile and continued on his way, unraveling the paper she threw at him.

"Stop flirting Randi and get back to work," a voice from behind us said.

"Yes Dr. Weaver," Rand replied obediently answering a ringing phone. I turned around to look at the famous Dr. Weaver. She wasn't really what I had expected. She had really red hair. She walked with a crutch thing on one of her arms and she had glasses that she had to keep pushing up. She didn't look very mean.

"Randi," I asked once Dr. Weaver was on her way down the hall. "Why don't people like her?"

"It's not that we don't like her. It's just that she's the one that can and will fire us if we slip up," she said tossing her bare lollipop stick into a trash bin before popping a stick of gum into her mouth.

"Hi Carmella," a familiar voice said warmly. I turned around and saw Sam standing there with snow on her hat and coat.

"Hi Sam," I said jumping off of the stool and racing over to her. I hugged her knees and she giggled.

"How are you?" she asked getting down to my height.

"Good," I replied.

"That's a pretty nice teddy bear you got yourself," she said touching my bear on the arm.

"Dave gave him to me," I said.

"That was sweet of him," Sam said more to herself then to me. "It's snowing outside."

"Let's go play!" I said excitedly.

"I have to work right now sweetie. But Doug and Carol are out there," she said getting back up.

"Bye Sam!" I said scrambling to the ambulance bay doors.

"Wait Carmel," Randi came up behind me and fitted me into my coat and hat and handed me my mittens. She herself was ready to go out into the snow.

"Are going to come play with me Randi?" I asked.

"I sure am," Randi said.

"Yeah me too," Dave came up from behind Randi and put his arms around her waist.

"Me three," Dr. Pratt put some charts down on the admit desk and came over to us.

"But you guys. It's the middle of your shifts. Dr. Weaver's going to kill you," Sam argued.

"Hey what Weaver doesn't know won't hurt her," Dave smiled mischievously.

"Last one in the snow has to assist house-keeping after our next trauma!" Dr. Carter ran past us and we saw him race out into the snow.

Everyone raced after him. Doug and Carol were already out there having a snowball fight with each other. The snow was new and more continued to fall from the sky. I scooped up some snow in my gloved hands and threw it at the back of Dr. Carter's head. He turned around, startle, and stared down at me. I giggled hysterically as he started to chase me. He caught up to me and lifted me into his arms.

"Put her down or suffer the consequences."

"SAM!" I cried. She stood in front of Carter and me with a large snowball in her hand.

"That's the spirit Sammy!" Dave cried. He was flopped over in the snow making snow angels with Randi and Chuny. Dr. Carter put me down. I ran over to Dave and saw out of the corner of my eye Sam throw the snowball at Dr. Carter anyway. I jumped up on his chest.

"You're cold," I exclaim feeling his nose.

"You're colder," he argued. He tickled my sides and was able to wrestle me off of him.

"What in the name of god are you doing?"

Everyone froze for a second and looked towards the doors of the hospital. A not to enthused Dr. Weaver stood there glaring at everyone.

"Aw come on Dr. Weaver. We were just having some fun with our little munchkin," Dave said cradling me in his arms and standing up.

"Can it Malucci. What would have happened if a trauma had come in and I had no one on duty?" Dr. Weaver cried. Everyone was set into an uneasy silence. It was broken when all of a sudden Dr. Weaver got nailed on the side of the head with a snowball. Everyone held their breath and turned around to see the culprit who was as good as dead. It was Sam. I waited to see what Dr. Weaver would do. The next thing she did surprised everybody. She started laughing. She bent over and picked up a wad of snow and tossed it back at Sam. And all at once everyone started tossing snowballs at each other. Just as I was beginning to feel tired an ambulance siren pierced through are giggles and excited cries.

"35-year-old male who tried hanging himself in the basement of his home," on of the ambulance assistance explained wheeling a man out of the ambulance.

"Take Carmella inside!" Sam yelled over at Dave before she raced over to the gurney to help wheel him into the hospital. Dave held me close and rested his hand on the back of my head. Randi and Chuny followed us into the warmth of the hospital. Dave took me back to my hospital room and set me on my bed. He handed me the controls to the TV on the wall.

"I'm going to go see what I can do to help," he whispered. "You going to be okay?"

I nodded my head as he ruffled my hair and handed me my teddy bear.

"Good girl," he said and kissed my head before leaving. I smiled happily to myself and crawled under the sheets of my bed. I snuggled down into my pillow and sighed happily. Just as I was about to drift off to sleep Carol walked in and sat down next to my bed.

"Hey sweetie," she said tucking some of my hair behind my ear.

"Is that guy going to be alright?" I asked. She nodded.

"I think so."

"Dr. Weaver isn't mad at Sam is she?" was my next question. Carol laughed.

"No. I think this is as much fun as Dr. Weaver has had in a really long time."

"I need to stay here," I said.

"You do," Carol agreed as I closed my eyes. Before I fell asleep I heard Carol's voice.

"We want you to stay with us Carmella. You belong here."


	5. Temporary Custody

**tem·po·rary custody**  
Custody awarded until a final judgment in a matter is made

Chapter 5

I woke up in a sweat and in confusion. Once I realized I was in my pitch black hospital room I felt around frantically for my teddy bear. When I couldn't find him I started to cry. A few minutes later a small amount of light peeked into my room from the door. I held my breath as someone walked in.

"Carmella?" the voice whispered. "Are you okay?"

It walked into my room and closed the door behind it. Then it turned on my light to reveal the face of Dr. Carter.

"What's the matter?" he asked concerned once he saw my tear streaked face.

"I can't find my teddy bear," I whispered sadly hanging my head.

"Here he is," Dr. Carter said picking my teddy bear up from the floor.

"My bear!" I cried excitedly taking him from Dr. Carter. I smiled up at him. "Thank you so much."

"Any time," he smiled. "What woke you?" He sat down on the edge of my bed.

"I had a bad dream," I confessed clutching my bear tightly again.

"I used to have bad dreams about monsters under the bed and in my closet when I was a kid," Dr. Carter said. "I still won't go to sleep without a light on for anything."

"It wasn't a dream like that," I hiccupped. "It was worse then monsters. It was about my dad."

"Not a nice guy huh?" he asked. I shook my head.

"He didn't like me or my mommy very much."

"Why do you think that was?" he asked me.

"I don't know. We never did anything bad. Sometimes I have dreams that my mommy's still alive. As soon as we moved to Chicago he locked me into a closet and I dreamed that my mommy was there with me." Dr. Carter was quiet for a long time and I was beginning to wonder if I had scared him. It wouldn't have been the first time someone was apprehensive.

"Did you run away from your dad?" Dr. Carter asked.

"Yes I did. He disappeared after he started smoking this stuff that smelled funny. It would make him kind of loopy then he'd go away. But he came back. But not this time. I got scared so I ran away."

"Do you want to come with me to get something to eat?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yes please!"

I crawled off of the bed and gripped Dr. Carter's hand tightly before we headed out into the hallway. It was very quiet.

"Where is everybody?" I whispered.

"Sleeping," he answered taking me into the elevator. "Where you sleep is where all the other boys and girls that come to our hospital sleep."

"Who sleeps where you and everybody else work?" I asked once it dinged on the floor to the ER.

"All of us do on occasion," he said.

"Carter would you please come talk to the guy in 4? He's about to leave AMA," Dr. Pratt came up to us. "Hey there Carmel." He ruffled my hair and I smiled.

"Alright," Carter said. "I'll be right back and we'll go eat alright?" I nodded and he headed down the hall after Pratt.

"ABBY!" I cried spotting her out of everyone else immediately.

"Hey there Carmella. How are you?" she asked.

"Good," I said holding my arms out to her. She lifted me up on to a stool next to her.

"That's a nice little bear," she said petting my bear on the head.

"Dave gave it to me," I said picking up a pen from the desk. I started to draw on a pad of paper. Abby's reaction was pretty much the same as Sam's had been.

"That was sweet of him," she said, like Sam, more to herself then to me.

"Abby," Luka got Abby's attention. "This is Mickey. She's a member of social services and she would like to talk with Carmella."

A young woman stood next to Luka. She looked like she wasn't a day older then 21. Her hair was a light auburn and she had green eyes. She held a clipboard in her hands and she had a soft smile on her face. I didn't like her already.

"Carmella," Abby turned to me. "Would you like to talk to this lady for a little bit?" I shook my head and tugged my teddy bear close to me.

"I would just like to ask you a few questions Carmella. It won't take very long," she said.

"I don't wanna," I whined, feeling like I was about to cry.

"Alright Carmella! I'm ready!" I heard Dr. Carter call from down the hall.

"I gotta go," I said jumping off of the stool and running after him. I grabbed his hand.

"Come on Dr. Carter lets go," I said tugging on him.

"Whoa. Slow down there Carmella," he said.

"John wait," Abby came up to us. She grabbed Dr. Carter's arm and whispered something in his ear. After Abby pulled away he looked down at me.

"I think we better put our trip to the cafeteria off for a little bit pal," he said pushing hair out of my eyes.

"Why?" I moaned tugging at his arm again.

"You have to go talk with this lady," he said picking me up and taking me back over to admit where Luka still stood with the funny lady.

"I won't talk to her!" I screamed and started to struggle against Dr. Carter. I kicked him without meaning to and he put me down. I started to run out of admit and down the long hallway of the ER. I tripped over a crash cart and fell over on the tiled floor, banging my head against the side of a gurney that held a man who was bleeding from his hand. I started to cry hysterically, clutching my head with my good hand.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Settle down munchkin." I felt arms go around me and lift me off of the floor. It was Sam.

"I won't talk to her Sammy!" I shrieked as she brought me back over to admit where everyone was still standing with the funny lady. By this time everyone one around us was staring at me.

"Will you talk with her if Abby or I go with you?" she asked. I guess that was okay. Reluctantly, I nodded my head.

"Abby," Sam handed me over to her. She smiled and went back to work along with everyone around us.

"Curtain area 2 is empty," Luka whispered to Abby in his deep voice. He patted me on the shoulder and I tightened my grip around Abby's neck. Abby led Mickey over to the empty bed in one of the curtain areas. She set me down on the bed and closed the curtain around us.

"Alright Carmella," Mickey sat down and crossed her legs, resting her clipboard in her lap. "I would like to ask you some questions about your father." I looked over at Abby apprehensively. She was standing behind me, next to the bed, with her arms crossed over her chest. She nodded her head slightly.

"Did your daddy hit you Carmella?" she asked. I clutched teddy tight. I only nodded my head.

"Did he hit you a lot?" Mickey asked.

"Yes," I whispered.

"If you tell ANYONE about this I will kill you!" my fathers booming voice came back to me. This time we were in our Chicago apartment. He was drunk; I could smell alcohol on his breath. He would repeat this over and over again every time he would hit me. For a second it felt like I couldn't catch my breath.

"Abby," I whispered feeling the tears burn my eyes. She sat down next to me and rubbed my back, trying to calm me down.

"It's okay babe. Only a couple more," she whispered.

"Is your father's name Travis Walker?" Mickey asked. I gasped. The only people that had ever called my Daddy that was my Mommy and the man that used to bring us our mail. It caught me off guard that Mickey knew his name. I nodded.

"That's all I need to know," Mickey said standing up with her clipboard. "Thank you for talking with me Carmella." She held her hand out and I shook it quickly before yanking my hand back. She turned to Abby.

"Ms. Lockhart? I will need to speak with you and your other co-workers in private." Abby only nodded and bent down to hug me.

"Thank you for being so brave," she whispered. "You stay here until I get back." I nodded and she followed Mickey outside. I climbed off of the bed and looked around the tiny curtain area. There wasn't a whole lot to see. I didn't want to disobey Abby, but at the same time I didn't want to stay by myself. Luckily I heard Sam's voice on the other side of the curtain. She was talking to Luka.

"That's really terrible. Are you sure that's her father?" I heard Sam ask. Then I heard Mickey.

"Sure of it," she said. "He was arrested last week for being in possession of marijuana. Carmella probably ran away when the pain of her broken arm became too much for her. Now that we hold the information that we do we can take him to court and get him under a larger sentence. Child abuse and murder. Carmella won't ever have to live in fear again. Live in the way of fury."

"Wait hold on just a minute," now I heard Dave's voice. "What's going to happen to Carmella?"

"I've tried to track down family members since I was first assigned this case a few days ago but so far I haven't been able to come up with anyone," Mickey said sadly.

"Until you find someone… Where's she going to go?" Luka asked. He sounded upset.

"Probably a group home or a foster community," Mickey said. I felt my breath catch in my throat. I couldn't go away! I couldn't leave the hospital. Carol told me! She told me I needed to stay at the hospital with everyone. That I belonged here.

"You can't do that," Dave snapped.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to. Its law for me to take cases like Carmella's and put them in foster positions until something more permanent comes up," Mickey said.

"Well can't we be her foster position?" Abby asked. "Can't we take care of Carmella?" There was a long silence in which I held my breath.

"I…I don't know if that can be arranged," Mickey whispered. I started to cry quietly and I quickly came out from behind the curtain.

"Abby!" I could hardly see Luka, Sam, Dave, and Abby through the foggy wall of tears that blurred my vision. It seemed like forever but I finally made my way into her arms. I cried into her chest.

"I don't wanna go!"

Abby hugged me tightly until I pulled away and found Dave's arms. Soon Sam and Luka were kneeled down and I ran into their arms too.

"Can't we try and arrange something Mickey?" Luka asked. "She's happy here." Mickey seemed to be thinking very hard.

"I will run it by my boss and if she approves then Carmella can stay here until something else comes up. As of right now and as far as I'm concerned she's very happy here and you four as well as two other caretakers of your choice have temporary joint custody of Carmella."

"Hear that baby? You can stay," Sam hugged me closely. Abby, Luka, and Dave joined in.

"I'll drop by later this week to tell you what my boss has decided," Mickey said. Luka got up to shake her hand and show her the way out of the hospital. I smiled up at Sam and Abby and Dave. My dad was in jail and I'd be able to stay with everyone at the hospital. At this point in time, pain and suffering and loneliness had disappeared from my vocabulary.


	6. Uh oh

**Uh-oh**

Used to express alarm, foreboding, or dismay.

Chapter 6

"It's pretty exciting," Abby stated putting another spoonful of cereal into her mouth. She had decided to come down to the cafeteria with me and Dr. Carter.

"I know," Dr. Carter said affectionately ruffling my hair. "I'd probably worry myself sick if I didn't know where you would end up."

"Just in time for Christmas," Abby said. Dr. Carter smiled. I don't know if it was just instinct or what but I think that Dr. Carter is in love with Abby. He always looks at her with a silly grin on his face and any time she brushes up against him or looks him straight in the face it's like his mouth forgot how to talk.

"What's Christmas?" I asked. Abby looked sad again. I didn't like it when she looked sad.

"Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of Christ," Dr. Carter said.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"God," he said.

"God and Christ aren't the same people," Abby giggled.

"Almost," Dr. Carter said. I remember my mommy talking to me a little bit about Christ. We used to go to church on Sunday's to ask him to forgive us of our sins.

"We get a big tree and decorate it with lights and candy canes," Dr. Carter said. I giggled.

"That's silly."

"It's fun," Abby said.

"What about the mekora? Are we going to have one of those too?" I asked remembering seeing my dad light a candle of a mekora every day for 8 days in the winter time. My cousins used to come over and play with these clay things called dreidels. They were so pretty but my dad would never let me play.

"Bad girls don't get to play with dreidels," he said the first winter after mommy died. "They don't get presents either." Every night after lighting a candle of the mekora my cousins would get presents while I sat under the kitchen table watching them have fun, wishing more then every Mommy was still alive.

"Menorah," Dr. Carter corrected me. "A menorah is only for people that celebrate Hanukkah. It's sort of like Christmas."

"It will be really fun. I promise," Abby said. A loud beeping from Dr. Carter's pager signaled the end of our breakfast.

"The ER's paging," he said getting up from the table. "Ladies." He held his hands out to both of us. I took one of his hands while Abby took the other. We took the elevator back to the ER.

"I have to get to trauma 1," Carter said. He squeezed my hand then rushed off. I stuck my thumb in my mouth. It was something I did after dad had left and I had that feeling of contentment in his absence. Abby took my other hand and we went up to admit together. I started to feel sleepy again.

"There you are!" Randi greeted me with a big hug. I smiled and closed my eyes as she lifted me up on the counter of admit.

"And who's this?" a woman came up next to Randi and looked me over.

"Susan this is Carmella. Carmella this is Susan Lewis," Abby said picking up a chart that was lying by itself.

"Hi there," Susan smiled. I took my thumb out of my mouth.

"Hi."

After I had shaken Susan's hand she went back to work.

"What are you writing?" I asked Randi reaching for the paper she was writing on. She pulled it away and put my hand back on the admit desk.

"That is none of your business Ms. Carmel," Randi smiled and folded up the paper. As Dave walked by she tossed it at him. It hit him in the head but instead of landing on his clipboard it bounced off of him and landed on Dr. Weaver's clipboard. I covered my mouth to keep from laughing as Randi turned red. I climbed off of the stool to pick up teddy who had fallen on the floor.

"Oh boy," I heard Dr. Weaver huff after she unraveled Randi's note to Dave. "This is going to be a long day."

Dr. Weaver was right. It was a long day. Luka and Sam took me to the park after lunch and we played in the snow. Most of the day I sat at admit with Randi watching her answer phones and jot things down. Every so often Abby would pop in to see how I was doing.

"What time is it?" I yawned pulling at Abby's arm. She had come into admit to rest a while with me. Randi had gone home a while ago after her shift.

"Did you eat your macaroni?" Abby asked. I sighed and showed her my empty bowl.

"Yes. What time is it?" I asked again. Abby glanced at the clock on the wall.

"8:30," she sighed resting her head in her hands. I yawned again.

"We better get you set up in an empty exam room little Carmel," she said tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"I want to go home with you," I said.

"I'm sure I can manage that," Abby smiled and set me on a stool next to Jerry.

"Watch her," she instructed. Jerry glanced over at me and I smiled.

"Pretty exciting around here huh?" he asked.

"Uh huh," I said glancing at his computer screen. "How come you're playing Pac Man? Isn't Dr. Weaver going to get mad?"

"Nah. Not if I don't get caught."

"Can I play?" I asked

"I'm not saying nothing as long as your not," Jerry said setting me into his lap. A phone off to the side beeped.

"Gotta get that," Jerry said setting me on his stool. "Wait a second." I look at the computer screen then stop as I hear Abby yelling at Susan.

"I don't really appreciate this whole 'leadership attitude' you've brought on to us!" Abby exclaimed grabbing her jacket from the wall.

"Hey guys. An MVA trauma's coming in," Jerry alerted Susan and Abby.

"I'm on break," Abby exclaimed heading for the ambulance bay doors.

"Residents don't get breaks!" Susan argued obviously still angry.

"Well then I'm going to wait for the MVA," Abby stated as the door closed behind her. Susan sighed and headed down the hallway in a huff.

"Why are they fighting?" I asked Jerry who turned back to me.

"Who knows," he said. "It'll probably be forgotten by tomorrow. Excuse me again Carmella." Jerry went over to answer another phone. I climbed off of the stool and headed to the doors of the ambulance bay. I wanted to be with Abby. I grabbed my jacket and boots that lay by the door from earlier and hurriedly put them on before Jerry finished on the phone. I pushed the doors open and saw something I really wish I hadn't. Abby was pushed into a big black SUV by a little kid.

"Uh-oh," I whispered.

But before I could react, the SUV sped off into the night.


	7. End

**End**

The termination of life or existence; death

Chapter 7

"Abby!" I screamed down the street as I pitifully ran after the black car. I had to help her. I thought fast and raced back into the ER.

"Susan!" I shrieked running up to her legs. She was the first one I saw as I skidded into admit.

"What is it Carmella?" she asked detaching me from her.

"Abby! Abby! They took her! They took Abby!" I cried.

"Who took Abby?" she asked.

"I don't know! We have to save her!" I screamed.

"Honey, you're just sleepy. I'm sure Abby just went for a walk," Susan said. I could tell by her tone of voice that she was still angry with Abby and wasn't going to help me. Susan went back to work as I desperately looked around for Sam. I knew she would believe me.

"Sammy!" I cried, relieved, when I finally found her in the suture room with an elderly women. She was stitching up her hand.

"Well aren't you the cutest thing!" the lady exclaimed overdramatically.

"What's wrong Carmella?" Sam asked continuing to suture the women.

"They took Abby!" I cried tugging at her arm.

"Carmella!" she cried. I could tell I had thrown her off when her suture kit fell to the floor with a loud clatter.

"I'm so sorry Mrs. Brink," Sam said picking the kit up off of the floor. I didn't give Sam any time to chastise me. I ran out of the suture room and dove under an empty gurney to make sure Jerry was still busy before I dashed back out of the hospital. I was at a loss. I didn't know which way to go. I quickly raced off into the direction the car had gone.

"Abby!" I continued to cry as I raced down the street. "Abby!" I had no idea where I was going. But I was determined to find Abby.

I don't know how long I had been running. I had cried away all of my tears and my throat was raw from screaming Abby's name into the night. There was never an answer. I sat down on the sidewalk and buried my face into my arms. I had seen more of what I wanted to on my journey. A dead cat lay in the street with blood still seeping out of its head. It looked like somebody had shot him. I wanted to cry.

'What have I gotten myself into?' I wondered. Once I had caught my breath I lifted my head and took in my surroundings. It was dark and wet. The gutters were overflowing even though it wasn't raining. I tucked my boots underneath me so they wouldn't get dirty. I soon realized I had no idea where I was. I decided to find somebody that could take me back to the ER. The problem was the street was completely empty. I was scared and cold and I didn't know where I was.

I got to my feet and looked around. There was a small amount of light coming from somewhere in a nearby alley. I wandered into the alley and, to my relief; I noticed a car at the end of the small road. I approached it quickly. A man was standing at the back of the vehicle. The light that I saw came out of the dome lamp in the back of the car.

"Excuse me," I whispered tugging at his coat. He turned around abruptly and I quickly realized he was holding a gun.

"Carmella?"

"Abby!" I screamed rushing past the man with the gun and jumping into the back of the car where Abby was sitting on her knees. I couldn't believe it. It was really her. Abby held me tightly and started to cry into my hair. I cried too.

"Let go of her now!" the man snarled jabbing his gun in between Abby and I. I refused to let go.

"Let go Carmel," Abby whispered. She had to pry my hands off of the back of her neck. The man grabbed me from behind and yanked me out of the car.

"Who are you?" he snapped pointing the gun at me. I felt the same overwhelming feeling of dread I had when Mickey was questioning me about my dad. My reaction was the same too. I looked pleadingly at Abby who slightly nodded her head.

"Car-Carmella," I stuttered continuing to cry.

"You her kid?" I saw the little boy in the back of the car. He was the same one I had seen force Abby into the SUV in the ambulance bay. I wasn't sure how to answer.

"Well!" the man with the gun snapped. I flinched.

"I-I don't know!" I cried and totally broke down right there on the street.

"Please let her go!" I pleaded. I saw Abby attempt to get to me. But the man quickly pointed the gun back at her.

"Are you her kid yes or no squirt?" he pushed the gun to my head. I couldn't control my level of hysteria.

"She's mine, Loose," I heard Abby reply from the back of the SUV. I couldn't help but wonder why anyone in their right mind would name their child Loose. Then again, Carmella wasn't all that normal either.

"You shut up and help CJ," Loose snapped. It was the first time I noticed the gunshot victim in the back of the car. Then it all clicked in my head. That's why they had abducted Abby. They wanted her to help this guy. They were obviously hiding out in the alley to avoid police. I may be six but I'm not stupid. In a sharp motion that startled me, Loose grabbed me by the back of my jacket and shoved me into the back of the SUV, into Abby. He closed the door and climbed into the driver's seat. The little boy climbed into the backseat.

"How's CJ?" Loose asked as he started to drive.

"He's going to die if he doesn't get to a hospital," she replied simply, tears dripping off of her face as she held me close to her.

"Let go of her," the boy said.

"Please," Abby pleaded with him. I had managed to stop my tears and was now just holding on to Abby as tight as I could. Her scrubs were drenched in CJ's blood.

"Listen to Little C!" Loose growled. Abby squeezed me tightly then set me down as close as she could, next to her.

"What's the plan next?" Abby asked quietly.

"Once the cops are gone we're taking CJ home," Little C replied. I could see Loose looking at us through the rearview mirror.

"We're going to get some food," he said. I grabbed on to Abby's ankle. I was scared out of my mind, but at least I had found Abby and she was okay. I stared into Abby's eyes. She looked terrified but quickly kissed me on the head before Little C or Loose could say anything. It wasn't long before he pulled up into the drive through.

As Loose was ordering I tugged at Abby's arm and pointed to the latch that opened the back door. She slowly eased over CJ for the door but he caught her hand. I gasped, startled, and Abby sat back down next to me.

Loose pulled out of the drive through. I couldn't help but start to cry again. I thought about all those times my father had beaten me and beaten me until he had nothing left. All those times I had gone days without food. All those times I sat in a dark closet, wondering if I would ever see the light of day again. All those times I thought it was the end for me. But I was finally happy. It didn't seem fair. I looked up at Abby through a wall of tears and wondered if this was truly the end.

* * *

Thanks to my awesome Beta reader Starr who read my chapter despite having no hot water :( I would also like to thank everyone who supplied me with a lot of help and infomation on 'Skin'.

Dru

PS. I love all your reviews! Thank you all so very much...

PPS. Despite the name of the chapter I don't hope to end the story any time soon.


	8. Home

**Home**

a) An environment offering security and happiness.

b) A valued place regarded as a refuge or place of origin.

Chapter 8

"I have to go to the bathroom," Abby broke the uneasy silence that had settled over the car. I knew she had a plan and I was grateful. All of a sudden the terrain got rocky and uneven.

"You just passed a gas station," Abby said. I felt my stomach churn. The loud rap music playing over the cars speakers, pounded in my ears. I wasn't sure what Loose was up to but it wasn't making me feel any better. I realized we had gone off the main road. I pulled my knees up to my chest and gently rocked back and forth. I did it often to soothe myself. After a while the SUV came to a stop in a dense, wooded area. Loose got out of the drivers seat and opened the back door. He shined a flashlight at Abby and I, nearly blinding me.

"It's fine. I don't have to go," Abby squeaked.

"Get out," Loose snapped. I grabbed on to Abby's hand.

"I swear to god you little bitch if you touch her one more time I am going to bust a cap in your god damn head!" Loose snapped jabbing his gun at me. I let go.

"You gotta go but you're not going alone," he snarled. Abby got out of the car. I buried by face into my hands. I was left alone with CJ who was barely breathing. I knew Abby was right. He didn't have a lot of life left in him. Each breath he took was shallow and raspy. A short while later the back door swung back open and Abby picked me up. I couldn't believe they were letting her hold me. I sat on the tailgate in Abby's lap. We sat next to Little C. He was reading a comic book. Every so often Abby would take CJ's vitals. I noticed Little C and CJ had the same tattoo on their arm. I wondered what it meant. If it was gang related or not.

"Give me your comic book," Loose held his hand out to Little C. I knew he wanted it to feed the fire he had just created.

"I'm right in the middle of a story!" Little C argued. Loose ripped it from his fingers and tossed it into the fire. He sat down and lit up a cigarette.

"Can I have one of those?" Abby asked. After a while Loose handed her one. She lit it up and took long drags. I buried my head into her scrubs and inhaled her scent. I realized I was shaking. Abby tightened her grip around me slightly.

"I think the fire worked!" Little C exclaimed happily. "CJ stopped shivering." I froze knowing that wasn't necessarily good. Abby set me down and jumped into the back of the SUV to CJ.

"He's not breathing," she said. I watched her start compressions. I climbed off of the tailgate and watched her from the ground.

"We need to get him to a hospital," Abby repeated herself. "I can't do this by myself." I stepped forward.

"I'll help you Abby," I whispered.

"Your too little baby," Abby said, her voice inflicting every time she pressed down on CJ's chest. Loose pushed Little C forward. Abby showed him what to do. He just stood there. But after a while he followed Abby's instructions. They continued their circle of care on CJ I knew was hopeless. He had lost too much blood and there was no way they were going to get him back. I knew Abby knew this too.

"I can't do it anymore," Little C laid back in defeat as he tried to catch his breath. In a surprise to all of us, Loose stepped up and picked up where his brother left off.

"Is he dying?" Little C asked with tears in his voice.

"Yes," I whispered feeling more tears come.

"Shut up! He's not going to die!" Little C yelled at me. "Your mom's going to help him!"

Hearing the words 'your mom' sounded weird to my ears. I hadn't heard those words put together since I was 4 years old. Loose gave up after a final effort. Abby continued even though, I knew, she knew it was pointless.

Abby finally stops. Little C bursts into tears and runs off by the fire. Tears well up in Loose's eyes as well. He gently covers CJ's face with a blanket and kneels down next to his brother.

I scrambled up into the SUV and collapsed into Abby's arms. My eyes were soon again soaked with tears. Abby was stifling sobs. Now I feared what Loose would do to her. I knew that no matter what I wasn't going to let her go.

I chance a glance over at Loose and realize he has his eyes locked on Abby. I tighten my grip on her. I don't break off the gaze I have on Loose. He stands up, still clutching his gun. He begins walking towards us.

"Let go of her," Loose said slowly.

"No," I say firmly. He grabs a fistful of my hair.

"I said let her go!" Loose snapped.

"NO!" I scream. I don't think I had ever talked back to anybody in my life. In a quick motion he smacked me against the head with his gun. I cried out in pain. He was then able to pull me away from Abby and hoist me over his shoulder. I grew limp as unbearable pain rushed to my head.

"Abby!" I screamed.

"You don't have to do this," I heard Abby plead. Loose pulls Abby out of the back and opens the door to the middle seats where Little C had once sat. He forced her in.

"Lie down," he snapped. Abby complied once more. Then he shoved me onto the floor of the back seat.

"Stay low," he growled. I felt a wave of nausea hit me and I squeezed my eyes shut. I wondered what was to come of us as the car began to move again. I didn't care at that point what Loose or his stupid kid brother thought. I began to sob.

"We promise," Abby said once I had ran out of energy to continue my fit. "Not to tell anyone." Nobody answered her. "We just want to go home." After a while the SUV came to a stop. I wondered where we were. Loose opened the door.

"Get out," he snapped. Abby slid out of the vehicle. Loose grabbed me by the neck and shoved me into Abby's arms. I saw County across the street. Loose climbed back into the car. Little C hung his head out the window.

"Thanks anyway," he mumbled. The SUV sped off again. The rap music fading into darkness. My feeling of nausea returned as I felt the pounding of my heart in my ears. We were okay.

"Your bleeding baby," Abby whispered showing me the blood on her hand. I hadn't noticed. Snow began to fall. Abby held me tightly as she headed to the entrance of the hospital. Loose had brought us home.


	9. Sadness

**Sadness**

a. Affected or characterized by sorrow or unhappiness.

b. Expressive of sorrow or unhappiness.

Chapter 9

It has been a week since the incident with Loose and Little C. I wake up sore and sad every morning. I've been staying with Luka and Sammy and Sammy's son Alex. Everyone decided to sign over their temporary custody rights to Sammy and Luka. They look after me full time now. I haven't been able to see Abby at all since that night. I miss her too much to eat or go to sleep. The last time I saw her I was screaming at the top of my lungs as Dr. Ross tried to suture the small gash in my head the gun had left.

"Hey! Wake up!" I am being poked by Alex. He likes to wake me up before he goes to school. He seemed so impressed by me being in the presence of a gun. It made me uncomfortable. I open my eyes. To no surprise to me, I ache all over and I feel weepy. My head is still sore from where Loose smacked me with his gun.

"Alex," I hear Luka enter the room. "Your mom's waiting to take you to school."

"See you later squirt," Alex gets up and sprints out of the room before Luka can scold him. Tears spring to my eyes as I flashback to Loose sticking his gun in my face, Abby sitting by powerless. I feel the bed dip as Luka sits down.

"Good morning," he whispers in his deep, somewhat soothing, Croatian accent. He strokes my hair and I roll over.

"There's that pretty face," he coos gently moving hair away from my eyes. I can't help but smile. Luka makes me feel so warm and safe.

"How are you feeling this morning?" he asks.

"Sad," I whisper truthfully.

"You really miss Abby don't you?" he asks patting my back rhythmically. I simply nod my head. I'm afraid if I decide to talk I'll start to cry.

"You'll get to see her soon. She's healing too." I think about that for a minute. Abby needs to heal too. I just can't help but wonder if she misses me as much as I miss her. Luka grabs my hand.

"I'm sure she misses you a lot," he whispers as if reading my thoughts.

"Thank you Luka," I smile feeling myself un-tense slowly. His warmth is comforting.

"I don't have to work until 8:30 tonight so I can stay with you," Luka says. I feel a lump grow in my throat. Luka and Sammy had bended their work schedules drastically this past week so one of them would always be home with me.

It left only time in passing when Luka and Sammy would snag a kiss or two before going to work. It was usually Sammy with me during the day and Luka with me at night. This was the first time it had been flipped. I had fallen into a ritual at night. Luka would come home from his shift and Sammy would be ready to start hers. Alex would bounce into my room and sit on my bed. Then Luka and Sammy would come and tuck me in bed then sing me this silly song that Sammy sang to Alex the first time he went to camp called 'Camp Granada'.

"We can do anything you want today," Luka broke the silence.

"I want to see Abby," I quickly answered with no hesitation whatsoever. Luka gave a faint chuckle.

"Not quite yet little Carmel. Remember she's still healing."

"Then I want to go to the ER." In addition to aching from missing Abby so much, I ached inside from missing Carol and Doug and Dr. Carter and Randi and Dave and everyone else from the ER.

"You're the boss," Luka said bringing me into his arms. "Let's go catch Sam."

"CARMEL!" Randi was the first one to spot me in Sammy's arms. She ran up and smothered me with hugs and kisses. In her commotion she attracted Pratt and Deb and Chuny and Dave who all rushed up to greet me.

"Gently! You still have to be gentle with her!" Sammy scolded as Dave took me from her and held me tightly. I was happy to be back with everybody I loved so much.

It was the end of the day and I was curled up on Doug's lap in the lounge. He yawned and patted my head gently.

"You've been through a lot Carmella," he stated.

"Abby too," I said.

"Abby too," he agreed.

"When will she get better?" I asked.

"Soon," he answered.

"Ready munchkin?" Sammy hung her coat up in her locker.

"Ready," I said. Doug smiled and stood up with me in his arms. Sammy giggled as he handed me to her.

"What's so funny?" Doug wondered out loud. After giving me a kiss on the side of my head she giggled again.

"She's just too cute for me," Sammy said. Doug smiled and rested his hand on my head, staring me in the eyes. He chuckled too.

"You are pretty darn cute Carmella," he said. I snuggled into Sammy's neck and yawned.

"See you tomorrow Doug," Sammy said as we started to head out of the lounge.

"I'll walk you out," Doug said following us. As soon as we stepped out into admit my stomach dropped. Mickey was standing next to Frank at the computer with that clipboard in her arms again.

"Samantha Taggart," Mickey approached Sammy formally holding her hand out. Sammy shook it but I could tell already she was irritated.

"It's nice to meet with you again. I'm afraid I have some bad news," Mickey said.

"Concerning?" Sammy asked shortly tightening her grip on me.

"Social Services heard about the incident regarding Carmella and Dr. Lockhart last week and I have an order to remove her from your care," Mickey stated.

"I won't go with you!" I screamed, tears already streaming down my face. "I'm staying with Sammy!"

"Why does she have to leave?" Sammy asked standing her ground.

"Her life was endangered," Mickey said. "Social Services have come to believe you have Carmella in a risky and unsafe environment."

"I won't go," I repeated.

"It was a freak thing that happened," Doug argued. "We had no control over it."

"If you don't sign away your custodial rights to me tonight I can have you both arrested," Mickey stated calmly.

"No!" Sammy cried, frustrated. "This is not happening like this." Mickey handed the clipboard to Sammy.

"If you wish we can set a date for you to appear in court and see what a judge has to say," Mickey said when Sammy refused to take it.

"And until then," Sammy snapped. "Carmella's staying with me."

"I have two police officers outside that are ready to take you into custody if you do not cooperate. It's that easy Ms. Taggart," Mickey stated. Sammy slowly set me on the floor and took the clipboard from Mickey, glaring at her the whole time.

"Sammy!" I cried. I ran up to her legs and held on to them tight. "I'm staying with you Sammy!"

Doug detached me from her legs and embraced me as I started to go into a hysteric fit. Sammy jammed the clipboard back at Mickey. Then she got down to my height and took me from Doug. I hung my head and continued to cry.

"Carmella," she whispered softly. "Carmella. Look at me." She tilted my chin up and I stared into her eyes. She was crying too. I was still hysterical.

"I don't want you to be scared," she said to me. She was trying to be strong but I could tell she was on the verge of loosing it.

"I won't go Sammy! I'll stay with you! I promise I'll be good! I won't yell at Alex anymore! And I won't wake you up at night! You don't even have to sing to me anymore I just want to stay with you!" I shrieked hysterically throwing my arms around her neck.

"It's not that Carmella. It's none of those things. I love you so much. But you have to be strong for me. Can you be strong for me?" I had trouble catching my breath. But I finally nodded.

"We will fight for you Carmella," Doug said after being silent for some time.

"Let's go," Mickey said. "There's a car outside waiting."

"We're walking her," Sammy snapped angrily. Mickey shrugged and headed out of the ambulance bay doors. Sammy stood up and shared a pained glance with Doug. She grabbed one of my hands and Doug grabbed the other one. We slowly started to walk. It was the one night the hospital was vacant. Of patients and of doctors, all either on break or home.

"Hello Mudda, hello Fadda. Here I am at Camp Granada. Camp is very entertaining, and they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining," Sammy started to softly sing our song.

"Dearest Father, darling Mother. How's my precious little brother? Let me come home if you miss me, I would even let Aunt Bertha hug and kiss me," Doug skipped over a few lines and continued singing.

"Come on Carmel," Sammy nudged me.

"Wait a minute, it stopped hailing. Guys are swimming, gals are sailing. Playing baseball, gee that's betta. Mudda, Fadda, kindly disregard this letter," I finished the rest of the song tears still streaming down my face. We were at Mickey's car. I flashed back to the other night when I was with Luka and Sammy and Alex.

"Wait a minute, it stopped hailing. Guys are swimming, gals are sailing. Playing baseball, gee that's betta. Mudda, Fadda, kindly disregard this letter," Luka finished singing the end of the song and I giggled happily.

"Again!" I said. Alex groaned.

"That was like the 80th time!" he exclaimed.

"Haven't you had enough you silly goose?" Sammy asked. She was at the end of the bed, lying down with her head propped up on her hand.

"No," I said laughing again at the looks on Alex, Luka, and Sammy's faces.

"Well were just going to have to get those sillies out of ya," Sammy said sitting up.

"Uh-oh mom," Alex laughed. I had no clue what Sammy was talking about but obviously he did.

"Were going to have to tickle out all of your sillies!" Sammy and Luka cried at the same time and went in for the attack. I cried out in laughter as Alex jumped in to. Soon, the four of us were wrestling about on the bed.

"Alright I give up!" Sammy cried, out of breath, as Luka tried to tickle her sides. Exhausted, I rolled over into Sammy's lap and fell asleep.

Sammy held on to me for a few long minutes before Mickey impatiently opened the door to the backseat.

"Alright Ms. Taggart," she whispered. Sammy stifled a sob and kissed me again before setting me into the backseat.

"Sammy," I squeaked. She held my hand.

"I know Teddy wouldn't want to be left behind," she whispered, handing me my teddy bear. "I love you so much Carmel. And don't worry. Luka and I will set a court date tomorrow so we can get you back."

"Abby too," I insisted.

Sam nodded and kissed me one last time before slowly shutting the car door.

* * *

As always I can't thank u all enough 4 my reviews!

Dru


	10. Court

**Court**

a. The building, hall, or room in which such cases are heard and determined.

b. The regular session of a judicial assembly.

Chapter 10

Forever. That's how long it seemed I would have to stay in the 'foster position'. It was like an orphanage. It used to be retirement home. The inside was extremely fancy but it had a musty smell.

I know that with every day that passes, Luka and Sammy and everybody from the ER are worrying about me. I think about them all the time and pray for them every night.

Especially Abby.

If my insides ached for Abby when I was with Sammy, they ached a million times worse now. I still wondered if she thought about me as much as I thought about her.

All and all the counselors were pretty nice. But I was sick of a different stranger coming to read a story to me every night. I wanted to be with Sammy and Luka so we could sing 'Camp Granada' and stay up late playing on the weekends.

"Carmella?" Karen poked her head inside my room. Karen was one of the counselors at the 'musty warehouse' I had come to know it as. Karen was very sympathetic about my situation when I came in. She was young, only about 23 or so and she didn't scare me as much as Mickey did. My head rose to look at her. She smiled gently.

"Someone's here to see you." She held out her hand and I jumped up quickly to take it.

"Who is it?" I asked curiously.

"Sorry sweetie," she said. "I'm not entirely sure." We made it to the front counter where kids were checked in every day. Many of them were small and hysterical. Quite like I was when I arrived. But as I raised my head my heart seemed to skip a beat. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was Abby.

"There's my little girl," she whispered. She was already crouching down. I let go of Karen and ran into her arms.

"It's you, it's you, it's you!" I repeated over and over into her hair.

"It's me," she breathed.

"Karen!" I cried jumping to my feet. "This is Abby."

"It's nice to meet you Abby. Carmella talks about you all the time," Karen shook Abby's hand. I still couldn't believe I was staring up at Abby for the first time in almost 3 weeks. I went up to hug Abby around the waist when I shot up in bed, sweating profusely.

It was a dream. It had all been a dream. And it was the same dream I had been having for the past month. That's how long I had stayed bunked up with a bunch of other small children that had been taken away from their abusive parents. A lot of them had trouble sleeping. I was one of them. And when I did finally get to sleep I would always dream that Abby was here to take me home with her.

Sammy promised she was going to fight for me. And I wouldn't ever stop believing that. Tonight I started to bawl. I felt so alone. I missed Abby. I missed Sammy. And I didn't want to be here anymore.

"Be quiet!" someone nearby snapped in a harsh whisper. Many children woke up in full sobs in the middle of the night and I knew from experience that it was very frustrating once you finally did get to sleep to be awoken again. I threw the covers off of my body and rushed out of the room. I was bunked with about 20 other children under the age of 10. Karen was sitting at the front desk leafing through a magazine. I knew she went home sometime but it always seemed she was here when I needed her to be.

"Karen," I whispered stopping a few feet away from the desk. I held teddy tight. Karen gasped and got to her feet. I knew my eyes were red and puffy and my face was soaked with tears. She hugged me.

"Did you have that dream again?" she asked. All I could do was nod pitifully.

"Well you know what? Your court date is tomorrow," she said tucking hair behind my ears and looking inside my teary eyes.

"Really?" I asked wiping away tears with the back of my hand.

"You aren't supposed to know. Samantha Taggart, Luka Kovac, and Abby Lockhart are the people I've been hearing about that are going to be there."

"Sammy and Abby! And Luka!" I cried.

"Shhh!" Karen warned. "Now please go back to bed. You have a very big day tomorrow." I did as I was told. Once I was back under the covers I held teddy to me tightly and silently prayed that tomorrow would go well.

"Are you ready miss?" the police officer that was going to take me inside of the court room asked me. I had arrived a long time ago to a huge building where they said I was going to answer questions for a 'nice man'. I couldn't believe that it was finally time. He held his hand out to me and I took it. I wondered if Sammy and Abby and Luka would be inside just as Karen had said. The police officer pushed open the heavy oak door and I tightened my grasp on his hand. The first person I saw was a man in a black robe sitting behind a really big desk. I shuddered as I saw a tiny hammer sitting next to his hand. I wondered if that's what he hit bad people with. The police officer led me through a small gate then to a desk sitting behind the gate. And sitting at the desk was Sammy and Luka. My mouth opened but I couldn't form words. My legs turned to jell-o as I ran into Luka's arms. He held me tightly to his chest and I heard him let out a pained sigh in my hair.

"Alright, Alright! Enough!" Sammy scolded Luka and practically ripped me from his arms and into hers. As I inhaled her familiar scent I started to cry hysterically.

"Order," the man behind the large desk said striking the tiny hammer a few times on his desk.

"Okay baby," Sammy whispered and seated me next to her. Mickey was called to a smaller desk next to the big man in the black robes. He asked her a lot of questions, both of them using ridiculously big words that I didn't understand. All I cared was that I was sitting next to Sammy again. Holding her hand and feeling her warmth.

"Where's Abby?" I tugged on Sammy's arm.

"Oh she'll be here," Sammy said in a 'she better' voice. After the judge asked a few more people some questions the big oak door opened again. Sammy lowered her head down to me.

"Don't be scared, honey," she whispered. I looked up at her confused. I hadn't been scared up until now I wondered why Sammy thought I would now. But a painful reality hit me as soon as the police officer that had guided me in here came back into view. Next to him in an orange prison suit and shackles was no other then my dad.

* * *

Sry it took so long 4 update guys. But here it is. Anyone out there watch the OC? I was thinkin' of doin' an OC story where Ryan comes to Newport with a two-year-old sister. I dunno. Anyway look for it enjoy!

Dru


End file.
